‘Yet it is so,’ I said firmly. I turned to look at her. ‘Tell me, Bruna, did you really come all the way up to Obernewtyn in this churlish weather to deliver a message from Jak?’

The Sadorian woman looked at me. ‘I did not wish to speak my deepest purpose with so many people about.’

‘We are all Misfits here,’ I said gently.

‘Nevertheless, some things are better spoken of in private,’ she replied. ‘I came to tell you that the bones of the tribesman Straaka must be returned to the desert lands so that they can be laid to rest in the spice groves with the proper rituals.’

This was the last thing I had expected. ‘Bruna, we have not seen Straaka since Malik’s betrayal in the White Valley. Miryum fled with his body after the battle and no one has seen her since.’

Straaka had ardently pursued the stocky coercer after they had met fleetingly in Sador during the Battlegames. When the handsome tribesman had gifted her two horses upon our departure, Miryum accepted, thinking only of being able to give the beasts their freedom at Obernewtyn. She had been mortified when Straaka appeared months later to claim her as his bondmate. Only then had she understood that his gift had been an offer of betrothal. At my suggestion, she explained that she could not bond with him until Obernewtyn was safe. I knew that a tribesman would honour Miryum’s devotion to Obernewtyn, and hoped that he would return to his land to wait. Miryum had been unable to simply recant her unwitting acceptance of his offer, because tribal honour would have demanded that Straaka kill himself. I had supposed that eventually he would grow weary of waiting and withdraw his suit. The soft-spoken tribesman had agreed to wait but instead of returning to Sador he had chosen to wait at Obernewtyn. To Miryum’s disgust, Straaka had attached himself to her newly formed coercer-knights, riding out as one of them, determined to help her fulfil her vow to see Obernewtyn safe.

But when he had perished saving Miryum’s life, the coercer had vanished with his body. Initially we thought that she had taken it to Sador for burial since the tribesman had once explained the import of this ritual among tribesfolk. But Miryum had never arrived in Sador and after a time it began to be whispered that she had carried Straaka’s body off in guilt and grief, only to stumble into Blacklands and die.

‘Straaka’s body must be returned to Sador,’ Bruna reiterated. ‘Until this happens his spirit will continue to walk.’

‘What do you mean, walk?’ I asked, taken aback.

‘Straaka’s spirit plucks at the dreams of those who knew him when he lived,’ Bruna answered. Now she straightened and said very formally, ‘I bring a message from the overguardian of the Earthtemple, to Elspeth Gordie, guildmistress of the Farseekers of Obernewtyn. Straaka’s spirit must find peace. One of the men who rode here with me is the brother of Straaka. His name is Ahmedri. He will remain with you until he learns where Straaka’s bones lie, for they must be returned to the desert lands.’